# Controversial encounters between law-enforcement and civilians - the omnibus thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942 "2014-10-10T07:35:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 691
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13802 "2018-06-05T04:06:58Z")
You are a seriously fucked up individual **Steophan**. You do realize that the freedom of speech is an enumerated right in our constitution, right? And you realize that the 14th amendment states that those rights enumerated in our constitution cannot be infringed by state or local governments. This means that anybody can say almost\* anything to any public servant and cannot be punished for expressing their opinion. Verbally resisting? What the fuck is that? Where does this verbal resisting come into play? When I am lawfully assembling with my fellow citizens to criticize government actions or just when it is a one on one interaction with a government official and I am criticizing their actions? Who decides where that line is drawn and what words constitute “resisting”? What exactly was he resisting with his words anyway, their belief he was guilty? Is it illegal to proclaim your innocence your world? You are part of the problem and I wished you didn’t live in this country. Go fuck yourself. Let’s face it, the cop wanted to get his point across and wanted to be respected by the stupid punk he was arresting (maybe rightfully, who cares?) so he tortured the guy until he heard the “yes sir” he wanted to hear. He could have done this with a whip, a taser, or just a simple beating. He was tired of being mouthed off to by a stupid punk, and he lost control. He should have just taken him to jail and let the system punish him for the laws he broke but instead he crossed the line in trying to prove a stupid point about who holds the power. What a dick. - Almost. Exceptions being obscenity, pornography, falsehoods, incitement, copyrighted speech and fighting words. I don’t think the any of these exceptions come into play. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13803 "2018-06-05T04:15:23Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > You are part of the problem and I wished you didn’t live in this country. …he doesn’t. Get this: he lives in a country where the police aren’t even routinely armed. Where self defense has to be strictly proportional and “stand your ground” doesn’t exist. Where they have strict gun control. He wishes he could live in your country so that he could live out his wild fantasies. But he doesn’t, so he lives them out over the internet instead. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13804 "2018-06-05T12:06:17Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > This means that anybody can say almost\* anything to any public servant and cannot be punished for expressing their opinion. Learn to read, you fucking imbecile. At no point have I said he should be punished for anything he said. What I’ve said, repeatedly and very clearly, is that verbally disagreeing with what a cop says is not 100% compliance with him. I’ve not stated that there _should_ be 100% compliance, I was answering a question along the lines of “what more could eh do to comply with the cop”. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13805 "2018-06-05T13:22:49Z")
What a stupid fucking hill to die on. I can’t wait to hear how you come down on the Stop Touching Me v I’m Not Touching You issue. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13806 "2018-06-05T13:27:19Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Something something quarry. A polite request is not a confrontation. Yes, it is. > [@Steophan](#): > > Do you honestly believe that a fucking dinner date, to pick an example of “a meeting of persons face to face” is a confrontation? Yes, it is; it clearly fits the definition. Remember, you’re the one who insisted that the dictionary definition was what we should be relying on here, not me. It’s hardly my fault that you didn’t know what the definition actually was, or that you tried to cherry-pick one. > [@Steophan](#): > > Learn to read for context, admit you’re utterly wrong, and fuck off. Nope; you should take your own advice. I doubt you will, tho, as that would mean losing face, and you know, deep down, that if you lose any face at all, you’ll lose everything, right? So you’ll prolly just double down, hurl some more insults and then do your best to ignore it. You’re part of the problem, **Steophan**. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13807 "2018-06-05T13:30:26Z")
Well, this certainly explains why people get so upset at polite conversations between people and authority figures, they assume any encounter is a confrontation, regardless of context. ---
**Author:** ![SaneBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SaneBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaneBill)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13808 "2018-06-05T13:55:35Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Well, this certainly explains why people get so upset at polite conversations between people and authority figures, they assume any encounter is a confrontation, regardless of context. An armed police is a [polite](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/polite?s=t) police ? Edit. Oh, yes and an armed thug is a polite thug, no ? ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13809 "2018-06-05T14:03:04Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Well, this certainly explains why people get so upset at polite conversations between people and authority figures, they assume any encounter is a confrontation, regardless of context. You really don’t see the irony in what you wrote? A government “authority” figure has immense power over us peons. Whether it is an IRS agent, health inspector, building code inspector, zoning official or police officer, you’re damn right that most people see most encounters as confrontations. The power is not only one-way, too many government officials in these posts abuse their power, and even worse, seem to relish their relative power over us mere subjects in a sadistic manner. Not all, maybe not even most. But there are far too many stories of abuse of power to expect it to not happen. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13810 "2018-06-05T15:21:14Z")
[Some controversial cops aren’t even cops. They are impostors!](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/impostors-donned-police-gear-responded-to-911-calls-and-handcuffed-people-michigan-authorities-say/ar-AAyfdaB) > [@](#): > > Impostors donned police gear, responded to 911 calls and handcuffed people, Michigan authorities say > > \ > > They wore police-like gear, carried handcuffs and even had a vehicle outfitted with red and blue flashing lights. They had been doing this for two and a half years! :eek: > [@](#): > > In addition to detaining people, the impostors responded to 911 calls and were sometimes even the first to arrive at crime scenes, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton told [MLive.com](http://MLive.com). > > “On some occasions, _the real police would ask them to perform tasks at the scene,_ not realizing they were impostors,” Leyton said. Holy FUCK!!! ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13811 "2018-06-05T15:23:39Z")
I wonder if crime went down in that community for 3 years? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13812 "2018-06-05T15:55:19Z")
Well, they were commiting felonies every night that no one noticed… ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13813 "2018-06-05T15:59:38Z")
Looks like it is a Michigan tradition. Nearly four decades ago someone posing as police pulled me over (and I drove off once he got out of his car). ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13814 "2018-06-05T16:17:47Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > But let’s assume I can’t see it due to camera angles (I don’t believe this is true). What about the second tasing? . He failed to give the proper response of “Thank you sir. May I have another?” after the first tasing. What did he expect? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13815 "2018-06-05T16:40:03Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > [Some controversial cops aren’t even cops. They are impostors!](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/impostors-donned-police-gear-responded-to-911-calls-and-handcuffed-people-michigan-authorities-say/ar-AAyfdaB) Because, \*”The only thing that we were able to determine is that they thought they were doing good Samaritan work and helping the police and doing a good turn for the community, but you cannot impersonate a police officer. That’s a crime,” (county prosecutor Leyton) said. Matthew L. Norwood, Jones’s attorney, (said) that the group didn’t have “any evil intent … _ **wanted to help improve the community** _.”\* that is not what police do, and we must not get the public thinking it is, so these villains must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. ---
**Author:** ![SaneBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SaneBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaneBill)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13816 "2018-06-05T17:40:40Z")
It went fine and well for years. Then somebody saw them treating a black guy humanely and it all fell apart like a house of cards :smack: ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13817 "2018-06-05T18:02:36Z")
Is this still going on? Holy fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13818 "2018-06-06T00:12:57Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > Go fuck yourself. [Moderating] Telling other posters to fuck themselves is a violation of the board’s language rules. Please avoid this in the future. No warning issued. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13819 "2018-06-06T03:46:58Z")
[Salem, Oregon](https://apnews.com/4b4221baf2ed41fda4ef78ad301cf4a3/Video-shows-police-repeatedly-punching-man-in-Oregon): > [@](#): > > Civil rights groups in Oregon are calling for an investigation after a video showed police punching a prone man in the head at least 16 times. > > The video shows four officers converging on a man standing on a street, then pulling him to the ground, with three officers holding his limbs and one straddling his back. As one officer appears to struggle to force one of the man’s arms behind his back, another begins punching him in the head. > > Through the punches, the man, identified as 28-year-old Kevin Straw, repeatedly shouts “I am not resisting.” The video was shot by Portland, Oregon, TV station KGW. > [@](#): > > The release also said Straw had been contacted earlier by crisis intervention specialists after reports he had been yelling at passers-by in the area. > > In the video, an officer forces Straw’s right arm behind his back, and another grabs his left arm. But as the officers together lower the man toward the ground, face down, Straw extends his left arm in front of himself. As Straw is punched, an officer can be heard saying, “get your hand behind your back.” > > After the punches are delivered, a fifth officer jogs to the scene and puts his knee on Straw’s head. > > Aside from extending his arm, Straw does not appear to struggle in the video, and is eventually handcuffed. > [@](#): > > David Rogers, head of the American Civil Liberties Union in Oregon, said it wasn’t clear why officers used force on the prone man. > > “It looked like they were in pretty complete control, and yet a deputy proceeded to punch this man in the face 14 or 15 times,” Rogers said. “It was incredibly disturbing.” > > Amy Queen, a spokeswoman for the Marion County district attorney said the office is consulting with the sheriff’s office, but is not independently investigating the incident. Great idea! It surely can’t be that kind of thing having to do with the existence of the current situation, right? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13820 "2018-06-06T05:09:13Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Salem, Oregon](https://apnews.com/4b4221baf2ed41fda4ef78ad301cf4a3/Video-shows-police-repeatedly-punching-man-in-Oregon):Great idea! It surely can’t be that kind of thing having to do with the existence of the current situation, right? :dubious: What the hell. Fucking Detroit? A town of two hundred people in the mountains halfway between Salem and Sisters? Where are these blue thugs coming from? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/13821 "2018-06-06T13:04:55Z")
The guy was shouting “I’m not resisting!” That’s clearly resisting and deserves all the head punches that the cops can administer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=690) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=692)